Shot machine



Dec. l0, 1940. w. J. BULLCK 2,224,424

SHOT MACHINE Filed Jan. 20, 1940 2 ,Sheets-Sheet l L X1 TTORNZ YS Dec.10, 1940i. w.' l.1. BuLLocK 2,224,424

. SHOT MACHINE Filed Jan.` 20, 1940 2 SheetsfSheet 2 u 68 Y ,4 77012;@Ys

Patented Dec. l0, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE siio'r MACHINE J.Bullock, Inc.,

Ala., mignonto a corporation of Delaware Application January 20, 1940,Serial No. 314,885

6 Claims.

My invention relates to a machine for producing shot aluminum such as isused in metallurgy to deoxidize steel, and has for an object theprovision embod molten metal is closely stant oi dropping and iscondition for producing same time prevents oxidationof the metal whilein the cylinder.

Another object of my invention is to provide a shot machine having ahorizontally disposed, per-` forated cylinder into which molten metal ispoured, and means to both rotate and shake the cylinder lso as to causethe drops of molten metal to pass more freely through the perforations,

thereby increasing and the uniformity the capacity of the machine of thesize of the show Another object of my invention is to provide analuminum shot machine embodying a rotating,-

vibrating, perforated drum for dropping the shot, together with means tomaintain the interior oi' the dr um at a temperature at which the metalis in a fluid condition and in a reducing atmosphere during the droppingoperation.

A further object of my invention is to provide an -aluminum shot machinewhich comprises a rotating,

ping the shot, a chilling vibrating, perforated cylinderv for droptank.an elevator to collect the shot from the chilling tank, and a drier intowhich the shot is automatically fed by the elevator.

Briefly, my invention comprises a dropper in 'the form of a rotary,vibrating cylinder having perforations of suitable size.

A burner in the cylinder maintains the temperature high enough to insureproper fiuidity of the molten metal and aintains a reducing atmospherewithin the cylinder. Suitable cooling, elevating,.drying and screeningmeans, to be particularly described, are

associated with the dropper so that a continuous operation .may bemaintained.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification and lillustrating my invention in its preferred embodimentonly,

Fis.

l is a side elevation of my improved shot machine with certain partsbroken away to show interior parts:

2 is a plan view with some of the parts broken away;

Fig.

3 is a sectional View taken substantially on Fig. Fig. 3;

4 is a sectional viewtaken on line IV-IV of Fig. 5 is an enlarged sideelevation of one o1' the units which presses the elevator intoengagement with its friction drive Fig. 6 is an end elevation of Fig. 5;and

Fig. 7 is a view taken and showing the drier.

My improved machine comprises an open tank I'I substantially filled withwater to suddenly chill the drops of molten metal. Mounted above thetank Il and extending the perforated cylinder i2 having its axisdisposed substantially horizontal'and adapted to receive molten metalfrom a hopper I The cylinder i2 is provided at each end with on lineVII-VII of Fig. 1 5

width thereof is a 10 riding rings IB which rest on flanged idlerrollers causes it to quickly pass therefrom in pellets or shot aluminum.I have found that this vibrating motion of the cylinder not only speedsup the formation of the pellets, but it also causes the pellets to bemore uniform in size and shape than if the drum were the vibratorymotion. I

Heretofore, losses have been experienced in forming shot aluminumbecause of the fact that molten aluminum readily oxidlzes when exposedto air. -minum will quickly solidify so that when it is poured into theshot dropper it will not readily pass out in the form of drops.` Inorder to overcome these objections I close the ends of the cylinder i2with plates 2d and 29, and mount a burner 3i at one end 'of the cylinderso that the llame therefrom is within the cylinder. I provide a valve 32in the burner fuel line 33 so that the heat within the cylinder may beclosely controlled to keep Ithe molten metal in the sible condition toform the shot. The positioning of the burner 3i so that the dame iswithin the cylinder i2 prevents oxidation of the molten metal becausethe products of combustion from simply rotated without A. dimculty hasbeen -that molten alu- 35 best POS- the burner maintain a reducingatmosphere with- In order to recover and collect the shot from thechilling tank II continuously during the operation of the machine, Imount a rotary elevator within the tank II. As seen, the elevatorcomprises a large open ended drum $4 substantially the width of the tankand having .a peripheral cover 36 provided with a plurality of scoops orbuckets 31 which pick up the shot as they fall from the cylinder I2.'I'he elevator is mounted for rotation in the tank on rollers 38 and 39and is driven by rollers 4I and 42'fast on the shaf-t 24. I provideperipheral strips 43 and 44 of friction material against which thedriving rollers 3B and 39 bear, thus providing a friction drive for theelevator. v

On the top of the tank at the end opposite the rollers 3B and 39, Iprovide units 46 and 41 which are adapted to bias the elevator alwaysinto fric'- tional engagement with the driving rollers 4I and 42.Referring more particularly to Figs. and 6, it will be seen that each ofthese units comprises a box channel 48 into which is slidably mounted abearing block 49 for a shaft 50, carrying rollers 5I and 52. Acompression spring 53 bears at one end against the bearing block and atthe other end against a collar 54 on a pin 56 threaded into a nut 51fast on the channel 48. The springs are tightly compressed and forceshaft 50 and rollers 5I and 52 against the elevator, and thus force theelevator into driving engagement with rollers 4I and 42.

On top of tank II I mount a hopper 58 which is adapted to receive theshot as it falls from the elevator buckets 31. A chute 59 leads from thehopper 58 to a rotary drier 60. As seen in Fig. '1, the drier comprisesan outer drum 6I mounted for rotation on rollers 62 fast on shafts 63.One of the shafts 63 is driven by a chain 64 from the reduction gear box21.

Inside the drum 6I, and rotatable therewith, is a wire basket 6B mountedby spiders 61. The size of the meshes of basket 66 are large enough topermit passage therethrough of shot which are properly formed by theperforated drum I2, but are too small to pass oversized or misshapenshot. The shot which passes through the bask'et 66 will fall into thedrum 6I and pass into a chute 68, thence to any suitable container,while the remainder will continue to the end of basket 66 and fall intoa chute 69. A burner 1I serves to heat the interior of the drier anddrys the shot as it rotates. The drier, therefore, serves the doublepurpose of drying and screening the shot so that the final products frommy machine are two sizes of shot all ready for the market.

The operation of my device is as follows: Burner 3| is lighted and motor26 is started. Sufficient molten metal is poured into the cylinder I2through hopper I4 to fill the cylinder substantially up to the burnerand hopper openings in the end plates 28 and 29. As the polyhedralrollers I8 rotate t-hey impart both a rotating and vibrating motion tothe cylinder I2 which shakes off drops of metal through the perforationsin the cylinder. The shot falls into the tank of water II and into thebuckets 21 on the elevator, from whence it falls into hopper 58 as thebuckets reach the top. From the hopper the shot goes into the drierwhere any remaining moisture is removed by heat from burner 1I, andthence into the chutes 68 and 69 to any suitable container.

It will be noted that my improved shot machine permits production ofshot over continuousperiods without the necessity of stopping themachine either to supply the molten metal or to remove the finished shotfromthe tank. It is only necessai-y to continuously pour molten metalinto the hopper I4 and the shot will be continuously formed, chilled,dried and sorted.

From the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatI have devised an aluminum shot machine which is capable of producingshot .without oxidation of the molten metal, which has increasedcapacityover shot machines now in use, and which is simple and inexpensive tomanufacture and operate.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it f is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various changes and modications, without departing from the spiritthereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall beplaced thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specificallyset forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shot machine comprising a rotary cylinder having a perforatedperipheral wall, the axis of said cylinder being disposed substantiallyhorizontal, means to feed molten metal into the cylinder to leave thesame through the peripheral perforations, means to heat the cylinder andmaintain a reducing atmosphere in the interior thereof, means to vibratethe cylinder as it rotates, a chilling tank beneath the cylinder, and anelevator associated with the chilling tank to collect and remove thechilled shot.

2. A shot machine comprising a cylinder having a perforated peripheralwall and having its axis disposed substantially horizontal, means tofeed molten metal into the cylinder to leave the same through theperipheral perforations, a burner adapted to keep the molten metal inthe cylinder in a molten condition and to maintain a reducing atmospherein the interior of the cylinder, driven polyhedral rollers adapted toboth rotate and vibrate the cylinder, a chilling tank beneath thecylinder, chilling tank to collect and remove the chilled shot.

3. A shot machine comprising a peripherally perforated cylinder with itsaxis disposed substantially horizontal, means to feed molten metal intothe cylinder to leave the same through the peripheral perforations, aflame burner adapted to heat the interior of the cylinder and maintain areducing atmosphre therein, a driven polyhedral roller at each end ofthe cylinder adapted to both rotate and vibrate the cylinder, a chillingtank beneath the cylinder, and an elevator associated with the chillingtank to collect and remove the chilled shot.

4. A shot machine comprising a peripherally perforated cylinder havingits axis disposed substantially horizontal, means to feed molten metalinto the cylinder to leave the same through the peripheral perforations,a flame burner adapted to heat the interior of the cylinder and maintaina reducing atmosphere therein, a driven polyhedral roller at each end ofthe cylinder adapted to both rotate and vibrate the cylinder, a chillingtank beneath the cylinder, an elevator associated with the chilling tankto collect and remove the chilled shot, and means to dry and screen theshot.

5. A shot machine comprising a peripherally perforated cylinder havingits axis disposed substantially horizontal, means to feed molten metalinto the cylinder to leave the same through the peripheral perforations,means to maintain the metal in a molten condition while in the cylinder,

and an elevator associated with thev each end of the cylinder to bothrotate and vibrate the cylinder, said rollers being mounted on a commondriven shaft, a tank of water beneath the cylinder, an elevatorassociated with the tank to collect Vand remove the chilled shot, and adrier adapted to receive the shot from the elevator.

6. A shot machine comprising a peripherally perforated cylinder havingits axis disposed substantially horizontal, means to feed molten metalinto the cylinder to leave the same through the peripheral perforations.a burner' adapted to both maintain the metal iny a molten condition inthe cylinder and maintain a reducing atmosphere within the cylinder.driven polyhedral rollers at each end of the cylinder adapted to bothrotate and vibrate ythe cylinder, a tank of water beneath the cylinder,a conveyor associated with the tank to collect and remove the shot, ahopper to receive the shot from the conveyor,

anda rotary drier to receive the shot from the 10 hopper.

WILLIAM J. BULLOCK.

